Tuesday, 28 September 2010

REVIEW: LIL' WAYNE: I'M NOT A HUMAN BEING

4/5

Between his 'Rebirth' and his release 'Tha Carter' goes out this world.

Despite being locked down Lil' Wayne is still the hardest working man in hip-hop hands down. With more records out on the street than on his rap sheet the Lil rapper is further cementing his status as a heavyweight in the hip-hop game. Right now Wayne is nearing the end of his bid in prison and is channeling 2Pac with his output of material. To coincide with his release from prison Dwayne Carter will release 'Tha Carter IV' to his series of legendary albums but right not to tide us over on his birthday 'The Carter' releases, 'I'm Not A Human Being'.

If you doubt for a second that Weezy is running out of material in a minute than your just 'Dontgetit'. After showing his versatility with his impressive rock album at the top of his year and his crew collective'We Are Young Money' Wayne returns to his solo rap routes with an LP that was originally meant to be an EP. Also with more to come and some potential collaborative albums with T-Pain, Lloyd and Juelz Santana on deck Wayne is playing his ace card despite being in the hole.

Fans and critics who may have thought that 'The Rebirth' was a bit premature will be pleased with 'The Human Being' that Wayne has birthed. This album is straight rap, except for the title track which rocks so hard it would of been a standout delivery on 'Rebirth'. The album starts with the track 'Gonorrhea', with Wayne and protegee turned star Drake trading lines. From the jump this track is devilishly infectious. With lyrics that cant really be printed here. One of the best and cleanest from Wayne again shows that despite being in prison he's still in tune to what's going on in entertainment and sports "What y’all wanna do I’m all ears/smoking on that head band call that s**** Paul Pearce/I’m just so ahead of my time like dog years/ball like Solange, India Arie, Britney Spears". When Drake comes in he furthers the excitement of the hottest duo in hip-hop and the anticipation of Weezy's dual release spitting, "Wayne got a Bugatti that he steady putting mileage on/and we about to kill em C4 Mr Carters home".

Drake appears on half of these albums tracks and although he has Waynes back he isn't carrying him during Weezy's incarceration. His presence however further shows that this duo are head and shoulders above the rest. There are tracks that go hard and then there are smooth, R&B sounding tracks like 'I'm Single' and 'With You' that are Drake inspired but also feature Wayne's alter-ego trademark slow flow. A rhyme style which has served him well on the guest spot of countless R&B remixes over the years. The pair of 'Young Money' cash cows are so good together they should release a collaborative album together. Jay-Z and Kanye definitely better 'Watch The Throne'.

It's Waynes versatility that enable him to release so much material that is diverse and constantly refreshing. He holds court even when he passes the ball to his star label mates Jay Sean and Nicki Minaj. He continues to push the envelope with his out of this world style but he knows when to come back to earth and back to those hard rhymes that made him famous in the first place. This is evident in the track 'Bill Gates' where Weezy proves that through all the music space he has created he's still a hip-hop geek at heart. Overall with 'I'm Not A Human Being' Weezy makes it a good birthday and ensures that when his release comes 'Tha Carter IV' will be a party everyone will want to continue. TIM DAVID HARVEY